Why Are You Getting Fatter?
One-third of the world’s population is overweight or obese, and the resulting health problems are increasing, including high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and more. If you find yourself getting fatter and are closing in on that one-third of the population, it’s time to sit down and find out what is causing the getting fatter.
Many hormones in the body affect appetite and fat storage, and your weight is largely controlled by these hormones. These 5 things listed below can easily make you getting fatter over time if you don’t pay attention to them in your daily life.
1. The intake of excessive Omega 6 fatty acids
Most of us have too much Omega 6 fatty acids in our diet. Although Omega 6 fatty acids are essential nutrients, the intake of too much will have a negative impact.
When you regularly consume too much-processed food, junk food, and most vegetable oils, a compound called arachidonic acid is usually produced and stored in fat cells, causing them to swell and causing inflammation of the fat cells, which can lead to obesity, especially increased belly fat.
The best way to prevent and fight inflammation is to add more Omega 3 fatty acids to your diet, which help reverse inflammation within fat cells and trigger and prompt the major weight loss hormones (such as adiponectin and leptin) to send signals to your brain telling it that you are full and you will feel a decrease in appetite.
All you need to do to help reduce belly fat is to switch cooking oils. Switch out oils rich in omega-6 fats, such as low-acid rapeseed oil, corn oil, and soybean oil. Replace them with healthy oils, such as coconut oil, avocado oil, red palm fruit oil, or macadamia nut oil.
2. Mental tension, stress
When you are chronically stressed, it triggers the stress hormone cortisol, a hormone that can lead to an increase in belly fat in particular. When under stress, cortisol will redistribute fat from other parts of the body to the abdomen, resulting in the formation of an annoying “beer belly”.
At the same time, your muscle mass also decreases and slows down your metabolism over time. One of the first reactions of many people under stress is to find something to eat, especially those sweets, including junk food, which can distract you and cause the brain to secrete a “happy hormone” called dopamine, thereby temporarily relieving stress.
But in the long run, these comfort foods can cause inflammation of fat cells, which in turn leads to the accumulation of belly fat, especially visceral fat. Therefore, to lose weight, we must address the problem of emotional eating.
There are many ways to help you reduce stress and lower cortisol levels, such as:
- 4-7-8 Deep Breathing: Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, hold your breath for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds. Repeat 6 times.
- Meditation: Positive meditation has a significant alleviating and healing effect on bulimia and emotional eating.
- Exercise: Doing regular exercise and sweating can help you quiet your mind and control your dependence and cravings for food.
- Find someone to talk to: When feeling anxious, nervous, or lonely, seek help from others whenever possible. Finding someone to talk to or seeing a therapist can help you soothe negative emotions.
In addition, eating a healthy diet can help prevent stress. Try to eat fewer simple carbohydrates, processed foods, and refined grains and more high-quality protein and high-fiber foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains.
3. Too much carbohydrate intake
Carbohydrates (not just sugar) can cause glucose levels to spike, followed quickly by a crash, so you’ll crave food again. Most people eat a lot of carbohydrates every day. Carbohydrates enter the body and are broken down into glucose, which then causes a rise in blood sugar and causes the pancreas to keep secreting insulin to control blood sugar and deliver nutrients to the cells.
Over time the cells become resistant to insulin and no longer accept its help to absorb glucose from the blood. As a result of this resistance, the cells do not receive the normal supply of nutrients and send the wrong signals to the brain, making it think you are hungry and send the command again – hunger. That’s why even if you just finished eating not long ago but soon hungry again.
Those refined carbohydrates, including white bread, pasta, and many packaged snacks, contain very little fiber and protein, so they are digested quickly and cause a rush of glucose into the bloodstream, which triggers an excess of insulin. Unfortunately, insulin is also a fat-storing hormone that can lead to getting fatter, obesity, and many other health problems.
The best way to prevent high blood sugar and insulin resistance is to change your diet to a low-carb diet with lots of good fats and moderate amounts of protein, which provide you with steady energy that lasts for hours.
4. Do not pay attention to intestinal health
The health of your intestines is critical to reducing belly fat and maintaining optimal overall health. There are approximately 1 trillion microorganisms in our intestines. Studies have shown a clear link between belly fat and harmful bacteria in the gut.
A high-carbohydrate diet can feed harmful bacteria in the gut and encourage them to multiply more, thus exacerbating intestinal flora imbalances. Prebiotics and probiotic foods are key to establishing a healthy gut ecology, acting as fertilizers for the beneficial bacteria to help them grow and “beat” the harmful flora, thereby reducing inflammation and possibly reducing belly fat.
Such foods as kimchi, yogurt, onions, garlic, and non-vegetables can feed healthy gut bacteria while also protecting the liver and reducing visceral fat.
5. Often stay up late
One-third of a person’s life is spent in bed, which is enough to show the importance of sleep. Long-term lack of sleep has many health hazards, one of which is that it can lead to getting fatter and obesity.
Of course, many factors lead to getting fatter, including your genes, diet and exercise habits, stress, and health conditions. But many studies have shown that when sleep quality declines, weight goes up.
Your body goes through many changes when you lack sleep, especially hormonal changes, including:
- Leptin: This is a hormone formed by fat cells that reduces your appetite. Leptin levels decrease as you sleep less
- Hunger hormone: This is a hormone that increases appetite and increases as you sleep less.
- Insulin: Insulin is another hormone that plays an important role in regulating body fat, and it is also affected by sleep.
- Cortisol: Lack of sleep can lead to elevated cortisol levels, and too much cortisol can cause metabolic disturbances, making you crave sweets and high-calorie foods more often.
- Melatonin: Melatonin is considered the “sleep hormone” that helps the body regulate circadian rhythms and respond appropriately to metabolism. Sleep deprivation can reduce melatonin production, resulting in metabolic disorders.
There are many ways to improve sleep, but if “counting sheep” doesn’t work, you can also try the following methods:
- Optimize the sleep environment
- Take a hot bath
- Develop a regular lifestyle
- Listen to music
- Meditate.
- Have an early dinner
- Try lavender oil
- Play some “white noise” to help you sleep, such as the sound of rain and running water
Conclusion
Many details in life can affect weight and overall health. If you find yourself getting fatter without realizing it, it’s probably due to some bad habits. To solve the problem, it’s a simple matter: eat healthy, exercise consistently, and get enough sleep.